The Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun has said that police under his watch would confront violent crimes head on and restore peace in areas ravaged by insecurity.
Egbetokun spoke at the ongoing conference and retreat for senior police officers in Owerri, Imo State.
The police boss hinted that the establishment of a Special Intervention Squad (SIS), a standby team of specially trained officers to rapidly intervene in major incidents which was immediately announced on his assumption of office is considered immediate priority in this effort.
According to him, “The Police Force under my watch is poised to confront head on the menace of violent crimes in our country, restore calm to troubled areas and engender an atmosphere of peace, safety and security which will promote national economic growth and prosperity.
“The establishment of a Special Intervention Squad (SIS), a standby team of specially trained officers to rapidly intervene in major incidents which was immediately announced on my assumption of office is considered immediate priority in this effort.
“The Squad will be deployed in each command to deal with the state’s salient security challenges. Concrete steps have already been taken to facilitate the smooth take-off of the SIS in ten pilot states, already identified based on the recent violent crime assessment carried out in all the 36 states of the federation and the FCT, while the other 27 states will immediately follow.
“I wish to express gratitude to Mr. President and Commander in Chief of the armed forces President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR for his kind approval for the specialised training (starting next month) of the initial team of instructors for the SIS. Thank you, Mr President.
“It is with great delight that I welcome you all to this years conference and retreat of senior police officers. (The fourth edition in its series).This is a unique gathering of strategic security managers comprising of Deputy Inspectors-General of Police, Assistant Inspectors-General of Police, Commissioners of Police and other Heads of strategic formations of the Nigeria Police Force. It represents the broadest, most diverse and richest professional engagement by senior police officers in the country. It is also a platform for the force leadership to critically assess the security situation in the country with a view to adequately confronting the array of challenges in the internal security space.
“The theme of this year’s conference and retreat “Fostering Economic Prosperity, Social Integration and Political Development through Enhanced Internal Security Mechanism” is derived from the policing vision of the new police leadership in the country “Emplacing a professionally competent, service driven, rule of law compliant and citizen friendly police force which will support the agenda of government in fostering economic recovery and growth as well as social integration and political development of Nigeria”.
“This conference and retreat with the above stated theme is therefore expected to achieve important strategic objectives which will shape the policies intended to drive the new policing vision.
“Upon assumption of office as the Inspector-General of Police of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I immediately outlined strategic and pragmatic measures to be taken to reposition the Force in line with Mr. President’s determination to reform and strengthen the nation’s security architecture.
“The cardinal focus of this new police administration is improving the capability of officers, standardising service delivery viz-a-viz driving transformative agenda, embracing the principles of transparency, accountability, and professionalism while upholding the rights of citizens and attending to the welfare of our officers.